The Four Famous Generals of the State of Qin The Four Generals of the State of Qin: Wang Jian, Mengtian, and Wang Biqi 1. General Wang Jian of the State of Qin Wang Jian, whose birth and death dates are unknown, was born in Pinyang Dongxiang (now northeast of Fuping County, Shaanxi Province) and was an outstanding figure in the Qin Dynasty A military strategist, he was another famous general of Qin after Bai Qi. His son Wang Ben played a great role in assisting Qin Shihuang in the war to unify the six kingdoms. Except for Han, the other five kingdoms were destroyed by Wang Jian and his son. Wang Jian loved the art of war when he was a boy, and served Qin Shihuang in battles. In the eleventh year of the First Emperor's reign (236 BC), Wang Jian led his troops to defeat Zhao Guolan and (today's Heshun, Shanxi Province), conquered nine cities, and captured the Zhaozhang River Basin. In the eighteenth year, he attacked the State of Zhao again. It lasted one year, captured the capital of Zhao, captured the king of Zhao, moved him, the king of Zhao surrendered, and Zhao became a county of Qin. The following year, King Yan sent Jing Ke to assassinate King Qin. The King of Qin then sent Wang Jian to attack the Yan State and defeated the main force of the Yan army west of Yishui. The King of Yan fled to Liaodong. Wang Jian defeated Yan Ji and returned victorious. Qin sent King Ben of Jianzi to attack Chu and counterattack Wei. King Wei surrendered and the territory of Wei was settled. The Qin State swept across the six kingdoms, destroying the three Jin Dynasties, defeating the Chu army several times, and the King of Yan fled. Qin Shihuang wanted to destroy Chu, so he fell in love with the young and brave Qin general Li Xin, thinking that he was virtuous and courageous. Li Xin once led thousands of troops to pursue Prince Dan of Yan to Yanshui, and finally defeated the Yan army and captured Prince Dan. Qin Shihuang once asked Li Xin how many men and horses would be needed to defeat Chu? Li Xin said that 200,000 is enough. Qin Shihuang asked Wang Jian again, and Wang Jian said: "It must be six hundred thousand." The First Emperor said: "General Wang is old, how can he be cowardly? General Li is very brave, and what he said is true." So he sent Li Xin and Meng Tian to the army. 200,000 soldiers went south to attack Chu. Because the King of Qin didn't want to talk to him, Wang Jian resigned due to illness and returned to Pinyang to provide for his old age. At this time, the Qin army, led by Li Xin, attacked Pinghe (now Pingyu, Henan), and Mengtian attacked Qiuqiu (now Linquan, Henan), defeating the Chu army. Li Xin took advantage of the victory to attack Yan and Ying, and defeated them both. So he led his troops westward to join Meng Tian's army in Chengfu (now north of Pingdingshan City, Henan). The Chu army led by Xiang Yan took the opportunity to accumulate strength and followed the Qin army for three days and three nights. They finally defeated Li Xin's army, captured two camps, and killed seven captains. The Qin army was defeated and fled. Qin Shihuang was furious when he heard that the Qin army had failed. He knew that Wang Jian was indeed far-sighted, so he went to Pinyang in person to apologize to Wang Jian, saying: "I did not listen to the general. Li Xin finally humiliated the Qin army. Now the Chu army is advancing westward day by day. Although the general is ill, how can he do it?" Do you have the heart to betray me?" Wang Jian declined and said, "The old minister is weak, violent and rebellious. I hope the king will choose another good general." The First Emperor insisted that Wang Jian lead the army. Wang Jian said, "If you must use the old minister, you will give me 600,000 troops. ." The First Emperor promised. So Wang Jian led 600,000 Qin troops to attack Chu, and the First Emperor personally sent the general to Bashang. Before Wang Jian left, he asked for good farmland, houses and gardens. The First Emperor said, "Since the general has sent out troops, why worry about poverty?" Wang Jian said, "As a general of the king, although he has made military exploits, he will not be granted a title, so he took advantage of the king's closeness to his ministers. , seek more good land, houses, and gardens to buy properties for your descendants." The First Emperor laughed. After Wang Jian's army reached the pass, he sent envoys back to the court five times to ask for fertile land. Some people think that the general's request for reward is too much, but Wang Jian said: "The King of Qin is rude and distrustful. Now he has devoted all the troops of the country to entrusting it to me. I can only stabilize my family by asking for more land and houses as the inheritance of my descendants, and dispel the King of Qin's treatment of me." "Wang Jian came to attack Chu instead of Li Xin. When the Chu army heard that Wang Jian had gathered an army of 600,000, they also mobilized all their troops to fight against Qin. As soon as Wang Jian's army arrived, they immediately stood firm and refused to fight. The Chu army challenged him many times, but the Qin army never came out. Wang Jian asked the soldiers to rest and bathe every day, arranged delicious meals to appease them, and ate with the soldiers at the same time, in order to recharge their batteries and wear down the enemy troops in preparation for the final desperate battle. Soon, Wang Jian asked the soldiers what they did for entertainment, and someone replied: "Throwing stones and long jump competitions." So Wang Jian issued an order to send out troops. The Chu army challenged the Chu army several times but the Qin army did not come out. The Chu army led its troops eastward. Wang Jian took advantage of this to send troops to attack and defeated the Chu army. He pursued them to Qinan (now southeast of Suzhou, Anhui) and killed General Xiang Yan (some say Xiang Yan). Suicide), Chu soldiers were defeated and fled. Taking advantage of Qin's victory, Qin pacified the cities of Chu in one year, captured the king of Chu and carried Chu, and the land of Chu finally became a county of Qin. Wang Jian then led his troops to conquer Baiyue in the south and won the victory. Because of his meritorious deeds, he was granted the title of Marquis of Wucheng in Jin Dynasty. In the twenty-sixth year of the First Emperor of Qin, the Qin Dynasty unified China. History books say that the Wang family and the Meng family made the most contributions, and their names were passed down to later generations.
General Dazi led the remaining troops and continued to fight against the coalition forces. They were defeated again in Qinzhou (Yongmen, Linzi), and Dazi died in the battle. At this point, the defeat of the Qi army was irreversible. Seeing that victory was in sight, Le Yi invited the Qin army and the Han army to take the lead, invited the Wei army to occupy the original Song territory, and invited the Zhao army to capture Hejian (today's Gaotang and Tangyi, Shandong). ). Le Yi personally led the Yan expeditionary force. Deep into the territory of Qi State, he quickly occupied the capital of Qi State. After successfully defeating Qi, Qin changed the focus of its attack. Soon after the Qin army reorganized, they pointed the spearhead of their attack at Chu. In the battle to attack the Chu State, Bai Qi took the lead and was invincible, making great contributions to the Qin State. In order to create a favorable external environment for attacking Chu and eliminate worries, in 279 BC, King Qin Zhao and King Zhao Huiwen met in Mianchi, Henan. The two countries established a truce and the north of Qin was stabilized. After the external work was completed, Qin State concentrated its superior forces to fight against Chu State